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All About Olympic Gymnast MyKayla Skinner & Her Sweet Family With Jonas Harmer
Since winning silver at the Tokyo Olympics, Skinner has been cheering on her Ninja Warrior husband.
The American Ninja Warrior course has been graced by some seriously impressive athletes throughout the years, and that includes Olympic medalist MyKayla Skinner.
A competitor to her core, Skinner soared through the course during the 2023 ANW Couples Championship alongside her husband, Jonas Harmer, and has since been cheering on Harmer from the sidelines. A decorated gymnast and tenacious athlete, Skinner always amazes any time she takes the stage, whether that's on vault or the dreaded Jumping Spider obstacle.
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Read on, below, to learn all about Olympic medalist and ANW Couples Championship competitor MyKayla Skinner:
Who is Olympic medalist MyKayla Skinner?
Skinner is an applauded American Olympic gymnast who has been competing since she was a pre-teen. In 2021, Skinner became an Olympic vault silver medalist at the Tokyo Olympics, where she soared through the high-stakes competition. Based on her 2019 U of U gymnastics roster, Skinner has collected an impressive lineup of career accomplishments, excelling in her vault, bars, beam, and floor work.
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Skinner was born in Gilbert, Arizona, and grew up in a family of gymnast sisters who inspired her to compete. Skinner began gymnastics when she was just 4 years old, according to her USA Gymnastics profile. As for her early career, Skinner competed at the Fiesta Bowl in 2013, winning every individual event except for the floor exercise. In 2014, Skinner appeared at the City of Jesolo Trophy, where she assisted the U.S. team in winning gold. Skinner was invited to the U.S. Olympic Trials following her impressive performance at the U.S. National Championships, where she was named an alternative for the 2016 Olympic team.
Skinner attended the University of Utah from 2018 to 2022 but never lost her fire for gymnastics along the way. While in school, she competed in her collegiate gymnastics team and enjoyed her title as a two-time NCAA champion. While in college, Skinner trained rigorously for a chance at the 2020 Olympics. She returned to competitive gymnastics to compete at the 2019 U.S. Classic.
Skinner's USA Gymnastics profile also reveals that she is a fan of the Twilight Saga, Taylor Swift, and Mexican food.
When did MyKayla Skinner compete in the Olympics?
Skinner retired from collegiate gymnastics in hopes of securing a spot to compete in the Olympics. She accomplished this with flying colors after landing a position as an individual gymnast in the 2020 Tokyo Olympics, which ended up being held in 2021 due to COVID-19.
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While in Tokyo, Skinner thought her chance at competing was over after finishing 11th place in the all-around and fourth place on the vault. Simone Biles and Jade Carey finished ahead and were selected to continue in the games, but after Biles dropped out of the competition, Skinner ultimately took her place in the vault final. Skinner's unexpected but incredible performance won her the silver Olympic medal.
"This has seriously been such an honor to be able to step in for Simone and be able to win this medal," Skinner told ESPN. "To be able to do this for myself, and [I'm] so grateful for the opportunities to come back after being an alternate in 2016 and having [had] COVID and pneumonia and all the setbacks I have had."
Skinner ended her professional gymnastics career in 2021 following the Tokyo Olympics. Skinner later appeared in Peacock's 2021 docuseries Golden: The Journey of USA's Elite Gymnasts.
MyKayla Skinner and Jonas Harmer's Family Life
Skinner has been married to ANW veteran Jonas Harmer since November 2019. Skinner and Harmer announced they were expecting a child in March 2023. People revealed that Skinner and Harmer met as students at the University of Utah.
"I hope I can be that mom — that cool mom," Skinner told People while navigating her pregnancy. "Just to be able to compete at the Olympic Games and to hit four events, do the best that I did was something that will last for me forever. It'll just be cool to be able to tell my kids one day that I went to the Olympics."
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In September 2023, Skinner and Harmer welcomed their first child to the world, a daughter named Charlotte Jane Harmer, weighing in at 6 pounds and 12 ounces, People confirmed. The couple has already made an adorable Instagram account for their little one, where they frequently share aww-worthy family pictures and life updates.
The couple flocked to Instagram to make a joint post about the arrival of their new family member, sharing pictures of their newborn daughter in the hospital and of the couple gleefully spending time with their baby.
"Everyone welcome Lottie!" the couple captioned the post. "Charlotte Jane Harmer made a safe arrival yesterday afternoon! Mom & baby are happy and healthy. We couldn’t ask for more."
"We are so excited to finally have this little girl as a part of our family..." Skinner told People in August 2023. "Ever since I can remember, I’ve wanted to be a mom. Obviously, that was never an option as a competitive gymnast, so as soon as I retired after the Tokyo Olympics, I wanted to start having babies!"
When did MyKayla Skinner compete on American Ninja Warrior?
Skinner and Harmer competed in the first-ever ANW Couples Championship in 2023, where they soared throughout the first round of the competition.
“MyKayla and I thought about doing this a long time ago, before the Olympics. I was always a fan, and she said she’d think about it,” Harmer explained (via Deseret News). “After the Olympics, it was a possibility, but she said no. She was retired and didn’t want to train for anything ever again.”
Skinner added, “Which is funny because I always wanted to be on ‘American Ninja Warrior. But I kind of gave up on that.”
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After Harmer chose to apply on his own and found out he was selected, he was later contacted again to see if he and his Olympian partner would have any interest in joining the lineup of Ninjas competing in the first-ever ANW Couples Championship. For the tenacious athletes, it was a swift yes before they began training.
“They asked if MyKayla would do it, with the all new couples’ challenge, a separate couples thing, so now she’s doing it,” Harmer said.
Watch Season 16 of American Ninja Warrior on Mondays at 8/7c on NBC and the next day on Peacock.
